Integral missile tanks



Oct. 16, 1962 A. B. STEIN 3,058,421

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United States Patent dfiEdAZl i atented Get. 16, 1962 3,058,421 WTEGRAL MISSEE TANKS Arnold B. Stein, Huntsville, Ala., assig'nor to the United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Army Filed Mar. 19, 1959, Ser. No. 800,605 1 Claim. (Cl. 102-49) (Granted under Title 35, U8. Code (1952), see. 266) The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government for governmental purposes without the payment of any royalty thereon.

My invention relates to missiles powered by propellants and more particularly to sections of the missiles provided with integral tanks for enclosing the propellants.

Conventional missiles include skin structures disposed to support the components thereof for transmission of forces of the missiles and to transmit the Weight of the missiles to the launching pads when the missiles are erected thereon. Propellant storage tanks of the missiles include bulkheads and cylindrical portions secured between the bulkheads and the skin for transmission of the Weight of the propellant thereto.

Since the function of the cylindrical portions is merely to transmit the weight of the propellants to the skin structure, the bulkheads may be directly secured to the skin to form integral tanks for respectively enclosing the propellants, eliminating the need of the cylindrical portions, and one of the bulkheads.

In long range missles, the principal load is the propellant and the structure of the missile itself. Decrease in missible structure permits a decrease in propellant, which permits a further decrease in the structure required to support the propellants. The net result of the saving gained by the present invention is to reduce the Weight of the missile structure by substantially 60 percent.

An object of my invention therefore is to provide a missile with integral tanks corresponding to the propellants thereof.

Another object of my invention is to provide such a missile having multiple propellants with integral tanks corresponding thereto adjacently disposed and separated by single bulkheads.

A further object of my invention is to provide such missiles with skins having flanges projecting between the adjacent tanks and spherical bulkheads secured to the flanges for separation of the tanks.

Other aims and objects of my invention will appear from the following description.

In carrying out my invention, a missile having a skin is provided with bulkheads secured thereto to form an integral tank for enclosing a propellant.

Missiles employing multiple propellants are provided with tanks for the respective propellants adjacently disposed and provided with single bulkheads therebetween.

In an alternate form of my invention, a device for transmitting the weight of the propellants to the skin of a missile includes sections of the skin provided with inwardly projecting flanges, and spherical bulkheads respectively secured thereto to form tanks for the respective propellants.

For more complete understanding reference is directed to the following description and the accompanying drawing, in which,

FIGURE 1 is a cutaway perspective view of a missile incorporating my invention;

FIGURE 2 is a sectional View of a missile with a pair of integral propellant tanks;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged view of the bulkheads; and

FIGURE 4 is a sectional View of an alternate embodiment of my invention.

Accordingly, a missile 12 is provided with a substantially cylindrical skin 14 and bulkheads 15 including particular bulkheads 16 and 18 secured to the skin in spaced relation to form an integral liquid propellant tank 20. Tank 20 is connected to a pump 22 by a conduit 24-.

FIGURE 2 shows a bi-propellant missile 25 With bulkheads 16, 18 and 26 secured to skin 14 in spaced relation to form an adjacent pair of tanks 28 and 30 for the propellants. Tanks 28 and 30 are respectively connected to a pump 32 by conduits 34 and 36, with conduit 34 projecting through bulkhead 26.

The bulkheads are formed with spherical center portions 38 smoothly merging into the radii of lip portions 40. Portions 4%} are secured to skin 20, as by Welding.

Bulkheads 15 are normally provided with spherical and edge radii of substantially 58 and 14 inches respectively for a missile of inches diameter. Such bulkheads are difiicult to form since the outer diameter of lip portions 44} is required to be maintained within close tolerance to fit within skin 20.

In the alternate embodiment as shown in FIGURE 4, skin 42 includes segments 43 with sections 44- of similar diameter welded therebetWeen and provided with internally projecting flanges 46 having a diameter 47, formed as by extrusion. Spherical bulkheads 48 are provided with diameters 5t) and disposed for attachment to flanges 46, as by welding, to provide equally efiicient tank walls. Neither diameter 47 or 50 is required to be held to close tolerance since bulkheads 48 are secured to flange 46 in lapped relation.

While the foregoing is a description of the preferred embodiment, the following claim is intended to include those modifications and variations that are within the spirit and scope of my invention.

I claim:

A missile comprising: a longitudinally extending cylindrical body portion having an outer skin inclosing an interior space, said body portion including a longitudinally extending hollow propellant tank section, said tank section comprising a plurality of cylindrical segments of said outer skin, a cylindrical section of said outer skin of relatively reduced length but of a diameter equal to that of said segments being interposed between and secured to the ends of said segments, each said section of said outer skin being provided with an interiorly pro jecting integral flange portion, a bulkhead secured to the flange portion of each of said sections defining storage space for missile propellant, each two of said bulkheads, and said outer skin providing only one undivided chamber defining a storage space.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,396,566 Goddard Mar. 12, 1946 2,540,594 Price Feb. 6, 1951 2,627,231 Kraemer Feb. 3, 1953 2,862,447 Lyon Dec. 2, 1958 2,918,791 Greiner Dec. 29, 1959 

